Red October is nearly here. We are so close, you can almost taste it. With the Philadelphia Phillies having home-field advantage, they're welcoming the Los Angeles Dodgers to Citizens Bank Park for Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday evening.
First pitch between the battle of National League titans is scheduled for 6:38 p.m. ET. The Phillies will be sending out new ace Cristopher Sánchez to get the game started. But before the stingy left-hander takes the mound, a Phillies legend will be gracing the field to throw out a ceremonial first pitch that is sure to blow the proverbial roof off The Bank.
Phillies legend Mike Schmidt to throw ceremonial first pitch before Game 1 of NLDS
On Friday, the Phillies announced that franchise legend Mike Schmidt will throw out the first pitch, according to Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer. It's really the only fitting way to begin a series that is loaded with superstar talent and future Hall of Famers on both sides of the diamond.
The Phillies announced that Mike Schmidt will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 1 on Saturday.
— Lochlahn March (@lochlahn) October 3, 2025
Schmidt, of course, is the Phillies' all-time greatest player and helped lead the 1980 team to the first World Series title in franchise history. The third baseman's illustrious career spanned 18 years, from 1972 into 1989 — all with the Phillies. He was added to the team's Wall of Fame in 1990.
Schmidt, who can still be seen around the ballpark as an occasional Sunday afternoon broadcaster, collected so many awards and accolades it's hard to know where to begin listing them. He amassed 106.9 bWAR in his career, by far the most of any Phillie.
The Hall of Famer was named NL MVP three times, made 12 All-Star teams and won six Silver Slugger Awards. He also collected 10 Gold Gloves at the hot corner.
Schmidt was named the 1980 World Series MVP after hitting .381 with a 1.176 OPS, two home runs and seven RBIs in six games. So he knows a thing or two about the journey that this current Phillies team is about to undertake.
Citizens Bank Park is sure to be rocking well before Schmidt makes his appearance for the first pitch. But you can be sure that the decibels will be jacked up even higher for the Phillies legend. Having him there will only add to the significance and intensity of the biggest and toughest NLDS series the Phillies have played during this current contending window.